The Auckland-raised Norrie always has to deal with extra expectation here and Lehecka didn’t make it easy.
He has an exciting game – with the ability to hit winners from everywhere – and a dynamic presence at the net.
But Norrie, who reached the 2019 final here, is a gritty player and found his best when it mattered in the final set.
”It was very special to be back here playing,” said Norrie. “There’s a lot of people within Tennis New Zealand and a lot of coaches and people that I worked with watching very closely so it’s cool that they get a chance to see me playing live. I invited some high school friends and some family friends.”
During the longest break Norrie resorted to playing cards – “it’s something I tend to do” - as he waited for the signal.
The transition inside for the climax wasn’t ideal, although it is something he has dealt with across his career, which spans more than 250 ATP matches.
”Tennis is a tricky one it’s not like rugby where you know exactly when you’re going to play,” said Norrie. “So you really have to be ready for anything, anytime, to play any kind of surface and going [from] indoors to outdoors.”
Norrie was coming off a hot week at the United Cup, where he beat two top-10 players, including Rafael Nadal.
But world No 78 Lehecka was already going to be a tough opponent, underlining the depth of the ATP tour.
The 21-year-old, who came through qualifying in Auckland, cracked the top-100 last February and reached the semifinals in Rotterdam, stopping then world No 12 Denis Shapovalov.
He also reached the decider at the 2022 Next Gen finals, then claimed the scalp of former US Open finalist Alex Zverev last week.
Conditions were tricky and Norrie took a while to find his rhythm, with a couple of early shots off the frame.
But there were some lovely touches, especially at the net.
The Aucklander couldn’t convert three break opportunities at 2-2 – with Lehecka retrieving a 0-40 deficit – before he was broken in the next game.
The crucial moment came at 30-40 in the seventh game, as the Czech shanked an overhead to allow Norrie back into the set.
From there the 27-year-old stepped up; successfully pressuring the Lehecka serve to go up 5-4, then converting his first set point with a wide angled backhand.
The second set was much tighter. There were moments of magic, with a remarkable net exchange at 3-2, as the levels and tension increased and Norrie almost hit the corporate boxes with one sharp winner.
The world No 14 produced a clutch looping second serve to save a set point, then forced a tiebreak.
But the European was too good in the breaker, with successive slashing backhand winners.
After a 45-minute rain delay – which probably suited Norrie – the former Bucklands Beach player grabbed an early break in the third set, after probably the shot of the match, as he dug out a backhand winner from a near impossible position metres behind the baseline.
With Norrie up 3-0, there was another frustrating weather disruption.
Players returned after an hour, before, almost unbelievably, the rain started again.
Eventually it was moved indoors and the British representative served with aplomb to retain his advantage, before converting his first match point, after three hours and 24 minutes on court.
